While the Kansas City Chiefs have faced challenges establishing an offensive rhythm this season, one bright spot has been the breakout of second-year wide receiver Rashee Rice. The second-rounder wideout from SMU is establishing himself as a go-to target in the Chiefs’ offense — and that comes as no surprise to head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce.

“He’s as good as we were hoping he would be,” declared Reid after Wednesday’s practice. “The thing you don’t know when you get into this is the work ethic. He works his tail off. His willingness to get with Pat and to listen… to get with Kelce and drain him of some of his knowledge — he’s very receptive to all that.”

Rice’s eagerness to learn from two of the game’s best has translated into immediate production this season. He ranks first in the league with 24 receptions, while his 288 receiving yards are second only to the Houston Texans’ wide receiver Nico Collins (who has 338).

Mahomes established a strong rapport with the receiver during Rice’s rookie season — and loves what he sees during Year 2.

“He’s just making plays,” said Mahomes. “I think you’ve seen that he’s been more versatile this year. He’s able to run more routes — [and] then he’s able to catch the ball and make stuff happen after the catch. He’s a hard guy to tackle.”

According to the quarterback, part of Rice’s success comes from the coverage Kelce demands from opposing defenses.

“There’s a lot of attention on Travis,” explained Mahomes. “But when Rashee is getting those one-on-one matchups, he’s winning — and that’s all you can ask for. He’s getting better and better each and every week.”

In Mahomes’ eyes, however, what truly sets Rice apart from other receivers is his relentless effort — which he compares to running back Isiah Pacheco.

“He plays extremely hard every single snap,” he observed. “That’s something that can’t be taught. You have to have this mentality that you want to compete and win. It might not always be perfect. It might not always be the perfect route or the perfect way [to] read the coverage. But he plays hard — so that when you give him the football, he’s going to run and get whatever’s there.

“It gives energy — kind of like when Pop runs the football. It gives energy to the whole team because of how hard and competitive he’s playing out there.”

Rice’s consistency and effort have earned Mahomes’ trust; the young wideout has caught two of the quarterback’s five touchdown passes this season.

“I’ve built confidence with him that I can go to him in these big moments,” noted Mahomes. “Third downs, red zone — he’s going to go out there and make the plays happen. Kind of like in the fourth-and-6 when I completed the pass to him in the Bengals game. He gained that trust from me, and it’s cool to see because he’s still a young player. He can still get better and better, but it’s great to see that all that hard work is paying off.”

As he proves that he has what it takes to thrive alongside Mahomes and Kelce, all signs point to Rice playing an even bigger role in Kansas City’s offensive attack.